So what about numbers?
We can discount factors like company car tax, contract hire rates and insurance – they’re within a few pounds of each other for both cars.
The 1.6 TDI SE is about £1000 more expensive than the coupe – diesels are inherently more expensive, plus there’s the extra 2 doors. (The SEAT Leon SC is actually £300 cheaper than the corresponding petrol saloon – quite unusual since coupe cache normally costs cash.)
So in terms of day to day running costs it comes down to fuel economy. Here’s how it worked out:
Average mpg | Best mpg | Fuel cost/1000 miles* |
Fuel cost for 24,000 miles* |
|
SEAT Leon SC 1.4 TSI SE 140PS | 42.6mpg | 47mpg | £139.92 | £3358 |
SEAT Leon 1.6 TDI SE 105PS | 52.3mpg | 64mpg | £120.05 | £2881 |
* Assumes petrol at £1.31/litre and diesel at £1.38/litre
In fact, a substantial £477 more to drive 24,000 miles in the 1.4 petrol powered coupe than in the 1.6 diesel.
Would I do it anyway? If my mileage was more like 12,000 miles a year, probably. But given that the diesel Leon is itself a fun car to drive it’s hard to justify another £500 a year.
With your sensible business car driver’s hat on, let alone if you were running a few of them as part of a small fleet, you’d have to stick with diesel for high milers.